258 research outputs found

    New approaches to the diagnosis and management of microbial endophthalmitis

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    Endophthalmitis is a devastating ocular disease in which, despite adequate antibiotic cover, the final visual outcome for patients remains poor. In the search for other treatment modalities to aid in the management of these cases, the use of clarithromycin, as an anti-biofilm agent, was investigated. Results indicated that a greater number of culture negative cases demonstrated an improvement in vision of 6 Snellen lines when clarithromycin was used. In cases of presumed bacterial endophthalmitis, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment have been noted to be associated with a better visual outcome but currently, confirmation of the diagnosis of endophthalmitis (bacterial and / or fungal) is dependent on conventional techniques of microbiological isolation of organisms which require between 1-12 days. Furthermore, many samples prove to be culture negative. In this study, PCR technology has been successfully applied to the detection of bacteria and fungi in ocular samples from eyes with suspected endophthalmitis. Oligonucleotide primers based on the conserved sequences of the 16S rRNA gene (bacteria) and lanosterol 14 α-demethylase (Candida spp.), have been used to detect the presence of these pathogens. Restriction endonuclease digestion, DNA sequencing and cloning of the PCR product were used to enable species identification. Results demonstrated that PCR-based methods are able rapidly to confirm the presence of pathogens with high specificity and sensitivity. PCR based techniques have also been used to rule out with confidence the presence of pathogens, a unique advantage of this methodology. The use of molecular methods has significantly increased the number of intraocular samples from which a confirmed diagnosis is made and reduced the time to laboratory diagnosis. PCR based methods have demonstrated great potential in the rapid detection and identification of bacteria and Candida spp. in ocular samples and promise to provide a useful diagnostic tool for the future

    Peer feedback content and sender’s competence level in academic writing revision tasks: Are they critical for feedback perceptions and efficiency?

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    Peer feedback content is a core component of peer assessment, but the impact of various contents of feedback is hardly studied. Participants in the study were 89 graduate students who were assigned to four experimental and a control group. Experimental groups received a scenario with Concise General (CGF) or Elaborated Specific (ESF) feedback by a high or low competent peer. ESF by a high competent peer was perceived as more adequate, but led to more negative affect. Students in CGF groups outperformed ESF groups during treatment. Groups with a low competent peer outperformed groups with a high competent peer during the posttest. Feedback perceptions and performance were uncorrelated

    Design and Evaluation of a Problem-Based Learning Environment for Teacher Training

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    Problem-based learning can have a great impact on the acquisition of practical knowledge, which is a central learning aim in the field of teacher education. Therefore, we implemented a problem-based learning approach in four seminars on educational assessment. In this paper, we outline our didactic design and discuss the results of the first evaluations, which explored acceptance of the approach, learning results, and expected applicability of the acquired knowledge. The results show benefits of the problem-based learning approach, but also room for improvement. Specifically, the use of problems from multiple contexts (theoretical foundations and direct practical application) and the flexible adaption to the learners’ prior knowledge, methodological expertise, and learning goals need to be enhanced

    Fußballfans: ballverliebte Phantasien an einem sicheren Ort

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    In dem Beitrag wird die Frage untersucht, ob die 44 Prozent Fußballfans unter den männlichen Jugendlichen in der BRD mehr sind als eine quantitativ beachtliche subkulturelle Teilmenge, ein nur am Wochenende mit Getöse und körperlicher Gewalt auftretender Mob, der die Straßen, Kneipen und öffentlichen Plätze der Innenstadt in regelmäßigen Zeitabständen besetzt hält. Der Bedeutung des Fußball-Wochenendes für die Jugendlichen als eine Art kulturelles Leben und als Ausstieg aus dem von Zwängen beherrschten Alltag wird nachgegangen. Das Fußballspiel wird als ein Teil von Jugendkultur und Subkultur betrachtet und als öffentlicher Raum kollektiver Erzählweisen dargestellt. Die Bedeutung des Fußballs für die individuelle Entwicklung des Jugendlichen wird herausgestellt. (KW

    Benefits of Enacting and Observing Gestures on Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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    Funding S.N. is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) as part of Germany’s Excellence Strategy—EXC 2050/1—Project ID 390696704—Cluster of Excellence “Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop” (CeTI) of Technische Universität Dresden. B.M. is supported by a Research Incentive Grant (RIG)—Project 012506—from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Armenian Residents in the Heart of Isfahan

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    Isfahan is one of the richest and most historical cities of Iran, and Jolfa is located in its southern part which is separated from other parts by the Zayandeh –Roud. Since Joulfa is home for Armenian residents in this region, therefore, it is different from cultural, social and economic viewpoint, Texture By taking into consideration its four-hundred years antiquity, it possesses a series of valuable historical buildings, which has locational – atmospherical-social and cultural advantages. But severity of packed damages on the shell of Jolfa region in recent decade has been so much because of dispersion of single remained buildings that has resulted in defacement of the concept “historical texture” and facing Jolfa region to “form and environmental identification crisis”, but inner values of Jolfa are still so impressive. In recent years different plans in order to renovate and rehabilitate this historical texture have been performed. This article concerns with introduction of Jolfa quarter and plans performed in order to rehabilitate and protect Jolfa region

    Who benefits from Visualization Adaptations? Towards a better Understanding of the Influence of Visualization Literacy

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    The ability to read, understand, and comprehend visual information representations is subsumed under the term visualization literacy (VL). One possibility to improve the use of information visualizations is to introduce adaptations. However, it is yet unclear whether people with different VL benefit from adaptations to the same degree. We conducted an online experiment (n = 42) to investigate whether the effect of an adaptation (here: De-Emphasis) of visualizations (bar charts, scatter plots) on performance (accuracy, time) and user experiences depends on users' VL level. Using linear mixed models for the analyses, we found a positive impact of the De-Emphasis adaptation across all conditions, as well as an interaction effect of adaptation and VL on the task completion time for bar charts. This work contributes to a better understanding of the intertwined relationship of VL and visual adaptations and motivates future research.Comment: Preprint and Author Version of a Short Paper, accepted to the 2022 IEEE Visualization Conference (VIS

    Gestaltung und Erprobung problemorientierter Seminare zum Thema "Messen & Beurteilen"

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    Problemorientierten Lernumgebungen wird hohes Potential für den Erwerb von anwendbarem Wissen zugeschrieben. Deshalb wurden lehrerbildende Seminare im Fach Psychologie im Sinne einer problemorientierten Didaktik umstrukturiert. Wir berichten über die Umsetzung im Rahmen regulärer Präsenzveranstaltungen und über die Rückmeldungen der Studierenden, die zu ihrer Zufriedenheit, ihrem subjektivem Lernerfolg und ihren Transfererwartungen befragt wurden. Die Ergebnisse sind weitgehend positiv, zeigen aber auch Optimierungsbedarf. Besonders wichtig scheinen die Bearbeitung von Problemstellungen in multiplen Anwendungskontexten sowie die Angleichung von Lernumgebung und Vorwissen der Studierenden. 13.05.2016 | Laura Hemker, Claudia Prescher & Susanne Narciss (Dresden

    User-modelled ambient feedback for self-regulated learning

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    A fundamental objective of human-computer interaction research is to make systems that are seamlessly integrated into daily life activities. Hence, the challenge is not only to make information available to people at any time, at any place, and in any form, but specifically to say the right thing at the right time in the right way. On the other hand, the proliferation of sensor technology is facilitating the scaffolding and customization of smart learning environments. This manuscript presents an ecology of resources comprising NFC, BLE and Arduino technology, orchestrated in the context of a learning environment to provide smoothly integrated feedback via ambient displays. This ecology is proposed as a suitable solution for self-regulated learning, providing support for setting goals, setting aside time to learn, tracking study time and monitoring the progress. Hereby, the ecology is described and intriguing research questions are introduced
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